Body found in Nueva Ecija not de Guzman’s – police

THE body found floating in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija last week was not Reynaldo de Guzman’s, the friend of Carl Arnaiz who was killed by police in Caloocan last month following a robbery incident, a police official said on Monday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Chief for Operations Fernando Mendez Jr. said this was based on the results of the DNA test that used samples from the body and parents Lina Gabriel and Eddie de Guzman.

“I don’t know who said that the body was Reynaldo,” said Mendez who claimed he was 100-percent sure of the DNA results.

On Sunday, taxi driver Tomas Bagcal claimed he was indeed robbed by 19-year-old Arnaiz but said the police report on the killing was “scripted,” because he brought the teen alive to the police station.

Bagcal said the police also implicated 14-year-old de Guzman in the robbery, but only Arnaiz held him up in Caloocan before dawn on August 18.

The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), in a separate autopsy conducted by its own forensic expert, said there were signs Arnaiz was tortured.

Arnaiz and de Guzman were last seen together in their village in Cainta, Rizal on the night of August 17.

Arnaiz was found on August 28 at a funeral parlor in Caloocan City, 25 kilometers away. The supposed body of de Guzman was found in Gapan, a three-hour drive, on September 5.

PAO disputes DNA results

The head of the PAO on Monday disputed the PNP findings and said the body found in Gapan was positively identified by his parents as Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman.

“It’s him, based on the comparative analysis of pictures of the recovered cadaver. His parents identified him through his body marks,” Chief Public Attorney Persida Acosta told reporters.

Acosta said that in a few days, her office would be ready to file murder charges against the police officers who murdered de Guzman.

“We are just completing the examinations of wounds the victim sustained and some affidavits of witnesses, then we are ready to file the case before the Justice department,” she said.